Carrier.



PATENTBD MAY 12, 1908'.

0. CHASE.

CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED sum-24, 190s. RENEWED MAR. 24. 190B.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

1m: NORRIS PETERS c0. wnsnmamlv, m c.

PATENTED MAY 12,1908.

G. CHASE.

CARRIER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 24, 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Y

THE NORRIS PETERS co., wasnmamnl, n. c.

PATENTED MAY 12,1908.

c. CHASE. CARRIER.

APFLIGATION FILED SEPT.24, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 24. 1908.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTED MAY 12. 1908.

0. CHASE.

' CARRIER.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 24. 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

m: NORRIS PETERE co., WAsHlNcraN, n. c

PATENTIEID MAY 12, 1908.

0. CHASE.

CARRIER. APPLICATION FILED-818F124, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 24. 1908,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5,

Vim/lag 1m: NORRIS psrsrzs co, wAsnmcroN, n. c.

PATENTBD MAY 12, 1908.

0. CHASE.

CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 24. 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6 ms mamas PETERS cu, wAsHmcrmv, n. c

UNITED STATES BATENT @FFIQF.

CLARK CHASE, OF FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARRIER T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARK CHASE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fall River, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to carriers. Its principal object is to provide a carriage so designed. that while its operator may, by controlling two ropes, move the carriage along a supporting member and firmly lock the car riage thereto whenever and wherever desired, by gripping mechanism operated by throwing thereon the weight of the load bearing member, yet the load bearing member while the carriage is so locked, may, by means of said two ropes, be raised or lowered, or be caused to assume an emptying position or a position for the reception of material.

My invention whereby the above object may be attained, resides in a load bearing member, gripping mechanism of a carriage mounted upon a support, and two ropes which are operatively connected to said load bearing member, the gripping mechanism, and the carriage, for the purpose of hoisting and lowering the load bearing member and causing it to assume position to receive, and to dump its load, while the load bearing member, acting through the gripping mem bers, locks the carriage to the support and further in means operatively connected with one of said ropes, and employed to sustain the load bearing member when it is' not sustained by the operatively connected gripping mechanism all being designed to bring about the above results, and still permit the said two ropes to perform the old functions of moving the carriage with its load bearing member forward or backward upon its support.

The other objects and features of. my invention will appear hereinafter.

The load-bearing member described and shown, is not claimed herein, but is claimed in divisional application No. 362,635, filed by me, March 1.6, 1907, for United States Letters Patent for hoisting buckets.

In the drawings illustrating the principles of my invention and the best mode now.

known to me of embodying these principles, Figure 1 shows a front exterior of my invention; Fig. 2 is an interior elevation, the carriage with its load bearing member, freely movable upon its supporting member; Fig. 3

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1908.

Serial No. 422,965.

shows in section, the carriage locked to its support, and the load bearing member in elevation, movably secured to the carriage; Fig. 4 is a like view, the load bearing member having been lowered away from the carriage; Fig. 5 is a like view; the two ropes controlling the carriage, being used to sustain, and dump the load bearing member; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of my invention, shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a like elevation of my invention, shown in Fig. 5.

A carriage 1 (see Fig. 2) provided with sustaining rollers 2 is mounted upon a support 3, say a rope cable. These rollers turn upon bearings, in two parallel plates 4, Figs. 6 and 7, constituting the frame. To support a load bearing member 5, there is what may be termed a bolt 6 having a hook 7 to which the load bearing member 5 may be secured. This bolt is mounted between the plates of the frame, in bearings which permit the bolt to be moved forward and back in a direction such as will allow the hook 7 to be moved under or away from that portion of the load bearing member 5 with which it is to engage. A lever 3 fulcrumed to the plates 4 has an arm pivoted to the bolt 6, and its outer arm operatively connected to a rope 9, which for convenience we will call the dump rope. movement of the lever 8 causes the bolt 6 to move in one direction; while a spring 10, fixed to the frame, engages a roller 11 in the bolt 6, and tends to cause the bolt to move in an opposite direction. Slots 12 are out in the frame plates for the purpose of guiding the load bearing member 5 into position to become locked to the bolt, by engaging the lock 7; and they are so arranged in their relations to the extreme positions of the bolt, that when the bolt is in one of said positions, as in Fig. 3, the hook permits free access to the guide slots, and when it is in the other, as in Fig. 2, it closes said slots.

Besides the dump rope 9, there is a second rope 13, which may be described as a hoisting and lowering rope 13, each of which ropes is operatively connected to the load bearing member 5, and also to a gripping mechanism 14. The dump rope 9 passes freely through a slot 15 in the free end portion of the unlocking lever 8, then over a pulley 16 in the frame; then over a pulley 17 in the load bearing member 5; up over a pulley in a side 18 forming part of the gripping mechanism 14; and finally down and made fast to the load bearing member 5. The

hoisting rope 13 passes over a pulley 19 in the frame; down and under a load bearing pulley 20; up and over a pulley 21, see Fig. 7, in the slide 18; then down and is made fast to the load bearing member 5. By means of these two ropes, or either of them, the load bearing member may be raised or lowered. An enlargement 22 is made in the dump rope 9, by splicing some strands therein until it is of such size that it can not pass through the slotted free end portion 15 of the unlocking lever 8, the location of this enlargement being such that when the load bearing member is raised off of the hook, the enlargement is about to pass through the opening in the lever. Hence, if the dump rope 9 is so moved that the load bearing member 5 rises above the hook, the enlargement 22 engages the lever; the latter is moved into the position indicated in Fig. 3; and the hook 7 moves and leaves the guide slots 12 open; the power moving the dump rope 9, and hence the bolt 6, overcoming the resistance offered by the opposing spring 10. This enlargement 22 is much preferable to a dumping ball to secure which to the rope is very destructive to the strands, and hence the strength of the rope.

The moment the load bearing member 5 is raised off of the hook 7, by either the hoisting rope 13 or the dump rope 9, or by both, the weight of the load bearing member is partially borne by the slide 18 with which the ropes are operatively connected by the pulleys 21, 23. This weight acts downward, and, when the dump rope 9, acting through the enlargement 22, lever 8, and bolt 6, moves the hook 7 out of the path formed by the guide slots 12, the slide 18, because of the weight of the load bearing member, is suddenly pulled downward; and a shoulder 24 on the slide engages a pin 25 on the bolt, and holds the bolt open. The slide 18 is con nected with a pair of gripping arms 26, which are pivoted to the frame, and which straddle the rope 3. The outer surfaces of these arms 26, Figs. 6 and 7, are curved, and over them travel rollers 40, mounted upon a bar 41, lying between each pair of arms. To the free end portions of'the bar 41 are pivoted threaded rods 27 which pass through lugs 28 on the slide 18, and by means of nuts 29 engaging opposite sides of the lugs, are adjustably and movably secured to the slide. A downward movement of the slide forces downward the bar 41 and its roller 40, which engages the curved surfaces of the arms 26, and. force the gripping arms into engagement with the rope, and the carriage becomes locked thereto. An upward movement of the slide causes the gripping arms 26 to disengage the rope, the disengagement being aided by pins 42 on the bar 41, which may engage the under sides of the gripping arms. This movement of the slide results from the upward movement of the load bearing member. A lifting lever 30,

pivoted to the frame, engages the slide, by means of a pin 31 and slot 32, and has its free end portion extend across the load bearing guide slots 12 in the plates 4; and by the engagement of the load bearing member 5 with the cooperating lever, slide, rods and grip ping members, the carriage is released from the rope 3 and becomes freely movable thereon. But a movement of the slide 18, suflicient to release the gripping arms 26 from the rope 3, moves the locking shoulder 24 of the slide 18 out of engagement with the pin 25 of the bolt 6; and the spring 10, under tension, drives the bolt so that the hook 7 closes the outlet of the load bearing guide slots 12. The slide 18, holding the gripping arms 26 out of locking engagement with the rope 3, still partially sustains the weight of the load bearing member, through either or both of the ropes 9, 13. By loosening on these ropes, the load bearing member 5 follows down the guide slots, and is caught and sustained by the hook 7 of the bolt 6. The carriage and load bearing member become removably fixed together, and they may be moved along the support in either direction by tension upon the dump rope 9 or the hoisting rope 13. But it will be noticed that when the dump rope 9 is used for that purpose, a pull on the dump rope does not move the bolt 6 and hence unlock the load-bearing member, although the enlargement 22 of the dump rope, and the lever are either in or about in contact, because the weight of the load-bearing member is so much greater than the force required to move the carriage and its load along the support, that. the carriage moves before the load can be lifted, and hence the lever be moved. to unlock the bolt and load-bearing member. The way in which these two ropes may be employed not only to move the carriage along its support, and lock it thereto whenever and wherever desired, but also to raise and lower the load bearing member, and move it into and out of dumping position when the carriage is fixed to the rope, will now be described.

Suppose first that the load bearing member 5 is sustained by the hook 7. Then the hoisting and dump ropes 9 and 13 are loose, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the carriage is freely movable upon the rope 3. Suppose next that the carriage has by the use of the two ropes, reached the lace on the line, where the carriage is to be ocked to the rope, and the load bearing member is to be lowered and moved into and out of dumping position. The hoisting line and the dump line are drawn taut, as by a double drumhoisting engine, and put under tension, as shown in full lines in Figs. 2 and 3. The enlargement 22 on the dump line 9 engages the unlocking lever 8, and the latter assumes the position shown in full lines, in Fig. 3; the oad bearing member 5 is raised off of the hook 7; its weight is partially borne by the slide 13, through either one or both of the ropes; the bolt 6, moving against the pressure of the spring 10, moves the pin 25 out of engagement with the shoulder 24 of the slide 18; the latter at once falls, because of the weight of the load bearing member, and the gripping arms 26 grip the rope 3, and the carriage becomes locked thereto. The hook 7, having moved away from the guide slots 12, is locked out thereof by the slide 18, in the manner already pointed out.

The load bearing member 5 can, before it is lowered out of the guide slots, at once be dumped, if desired; in fact, the load bearing member can be dumped whenever it is acting upon the gripping arms. By lowering the hoisting rope 13 (if it does not happen to be loose) the weight is thrown upon the dump rope 9, which is fast, and the load bearing member 5 is held in fixed relation to the carriage; and by further lowering the hoisting rope, gradually or all at once, the load bearing member may be emptied with corresponding speed; all of which will soon more p ainly appear. It will be noticed that the hoisting rope 13 is secured to a bail 33, of the load bearing member 5, having a bar 34 which is designed to engage the hook 7 of the bolt 6. This bail is movably secured to the load bearing member, which in this particular form will for convenience be termed a tub, by sliding in suitable bearings provided as in a partition 35, see Figs. 6 and 7, extending across the middle of the interior of the tub. In this bail 33 is mounted the pulley 20 al ready mentioned. The bottom of the tub isprovided with a pair of doors 36, and they are connected to the bail by links 37. When the tub is held in suspension by the dump rope 9, and the bail 33 is no longer supported by the hook 7 on the bolt 12, or by the hoisting rope 13, and the hoisting rope is loosened, obviously the bail, links and doors, all being connected together, begin to fall at once, and any material that may be retained in the tub by the closed doors becomes free to fall out; the parts of the open tub assuming the positions shown in Fig. 5, it being understood however, as was first supposed, that the tub has not yet moved out of the tub guide slots in the frame.

Let us assume that the tub has taken a position in which it is entirely disengaged from the carriage, as is shown in Fig. 4. The closed tub, shown in Fig. 3, is lowered by giving way on both the dump line 9 and the hoisting line 13, but of course the hoisting line must not be paid out any faster than the dump line, for if it is, then the doors of the tub will tend to open. \Nhen the tub has been lowered the desired extent, see Fig. 1, the dump line 9 is made fast, and the hoisting line let go; the tub then assumes the dumping position shown in Fig. 5. If, after of the dumping of the tub.

dumping, the tub is to be closed before it is raised, then the hoisting rope13 is set in motion; it becomes taut, and, acting on the bail 33, the pulley 20 therein, and the pulley 21 in the slide 18, the bail and hence the doors 36 are raised in relation to the tub, and. the doors become closed. The moment they become so closed the weight of the tub may, by slightly delaying the beginning of the movement of the dump rope 9, be borne by the hoisting rope 13. This method of operating the tub does away with the necessity of using two ropes of the same size, and permits the use of one large rope for hoisting and lowering, and a small rope simply for holding the tub and contents during the operation of dumping. Further, if it is desired to keep the tub open while it is being raised, as until it is fixed to the carriage, the dump rope is sufiiciently strong to lift the empty tub. It is not to be forgotten that during these movements of the two ropes, the carriage is locked to its support by the load-controlled gripping mechanism; and the prime principle of my invention resides in. means whereby two ropes, already employed to move the carriage in either direction, and secure it to its support, may also be used, while the carriage is so secured, to raise and lower and move the tub into and out of dumping position. In short, the main object of my invention is so to change the apparatus invented by me and shown and described in my application for United States Letters Patent for carriers,

No. 263,969, filed June 6, 1905, that the two ropesappearing therein may, in addition to the performance of their old functions, also enable the operator to have complete control In using the apparatus above mentioned application, I have found that by carrying the hoisting rope over the ulley in the bolt for the purpose of causing the bolt to move into position to lock the tub to the carriage, the hoisting rope, by reason of the resulting sharp bends therein becomes greatly weakened; hence a further object of my invention is to provide means of overdescribed in the coming this objection. Such means are illustrated in the hoisting line 13, which leads directly to the pulley 20 in the tub; and the spring 10, which performs the function formerly performed by the hoisting rope.

Having described the construction and operation of the features of my invention, and knowing that any one skilled in the art to which this invention belongs, can, once understanding the principles applied, embody them in different forms without departing from the spirit thereof, I desire to claim my invention in the broadest manner legally possible.

What I claim is:

1. A supporting member; a carriage adapted to be moved along said supporting member; two ropes whereby said carriage may be moved upon said member; gripping mechanism mounted upon the carriage; a load bearing member operatively connected to the gripping mechanism, by means of said two ropes; and means whereby the load bearing member, may be connected to and then disconnected from said carriage; all designed to permit the load bearing member, while acting upon the gripping mechanism and locking the carriage to its support, to be moved into and out of dumping position by the use of said two ropes.

2. In combination with a load bearing member; a carriage; a support therefor; and gripping mechanism for securing said carriage to its support whenever and wherever desired; two ropes operatively connected with the gripping mechanism and the load bearing member; one of said ropes sustaining the load bearing member and causing the gripping members to lock the carriage to the support, while the other rope may be employed in moving the load bearing member into or out of dumping position.

3. In a carriage designed to be moved along a support, and locked thereto whenever and wherever desired, by suitable grip ing mechanism operated by the weight of a oad bearing member; and provided with means whereby the load-bearing member may be locked to the carriage two ropes; each of which may sustain a load bearing member and operate the gripping mechanism, and

; one of which is provided with means for operating means for unlocking the load bearing member from the carriage and both of which may be employed in moving the load bearing member into and out of dumping position.

4. In combination with a load bearing member; a carriage; a support therefor; gripping mechanism for securing said carriage to its support whenever and wherever desired; two ropes operatively connected with the gripping mechanism, and the load bearing member; means whereby the loadbearing member may be locked to the carriage; unlocking mechanism whereby the load bearing member may be unlocked from the carriage, means whereby one of said ropes may be moved into and out of operative engagement with said unlocking mechanism to permit the load bearing member to become detached from or connected to the carriage; and thereby cause the gripping mechanism to lock or to unlock the carriage and its suport. p 5. In a carriage designed to be moved along a support, and locked thereto whenever and wherever desired by suitable grip ing mechanism operated by the weight of a oad bearing member and provided with means for locking the load-bearing member to the carriage; a rope adapted to sustain the load bearing member; mechanism for unlocking said load bearing member from the carriage; and means on said rope to engage said mechanism and cause it to operate.

6. In a carriage movable upon a support, a bolt mounted upon the carriage, and adapted to sustain a load bearing member; a lever connected with said bolt, and operated by a rope to move the bolt in one direction and a spring to engage said bolt to move the bolt in an opposite direction.

7. A supporting member; a carriage adapted to be moved along said supporting member; two ropes whereby said carriage may be moved upon said member; gripping mechanism mounted upon the carriage; a tub provided with an outlet; a pulley fiXed to the tub, whereby the tub, by means of one of said ropes, is operatively connected with said gripping mechanism, and may be sus ended from the carriage; means to open and c ose the outlet of the tub; means whereby the other rope, while the tub is suspended from the carriage, may control the opening and closing of the out let of the tub; and means controlled by one of said ropes, to removably secure the tub to the carriage.

8. A supporting member; a carriage adapted to move along said supporting member; two ropes whereby said carriage may be moved upon said member; gripping mechanism mounted upon the carriage; a tub provided with an outlet; a pulley fixed to the tub and adapted to be operated by one of said ropes, which is operatively connected with the gripping mechanism, and may sustain the weight of the tub; a bail movably mounted on said tub; means operatively connected with said bail for opening and closing the outlet of said tub; and means for operatively connecting the other rope with the bail, and hence the means for opening and closing the outlet of the tub; and means whereby the tub may, by the use of one of said ropes, be removably secured to the carriage.

9. A supporting member; a carriage adapted to be moved along said supporting member; two ropes whereby said carriage may be moved upon said member; gripping mechanism mounted upon said carriage; a tub provided with an outlet; a pulley fixed to the tub, and adapted to be operated by one of said ropes which is operatively connected with the gripping mechanism; means to open and close the outlet of the tub; a second pulley operatively connected with said means and adapted to be operated by the second rope which is operatively connected with said means, also whereby the tub may be opened and closed by using said second rope; and means whereby the tub may, by the use of one of such ropes, be removably secured to the carriage.

10. A supporting member; a carriage adapted to be moved along said supporting member; two ropes whereby said carriage may be moved upon said member; gripping mechanism mounted upon said carriage; a tub provided with an outlet; a pulley fixed to the tub, and adapted to be operated by one of said ropes which are operatively connected with the gripping mechanism, and adapted to sustain said tub; a bail movably mounted on said tub means operatively connected with said bail for o ening and closing the outlet of said tub a pul ey mounted in said bail, and operated by said second rope as for theflpurpose of opening and closing the outlet of the tub, while the other is sustaining the weight of the tub, or for raising and lowering the tub while the other rope is idle or is assisting in the operation of raising or lowering the tub; and means whereby said tub may, by one of said ropes, be removably secured to the carriage.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARK CHASE.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM S. GREENE, J. T. FYANs. 

